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"With the world’s eyes focused on the recent Iraqi elections, little attention is being paid to the major changes taking place in Iraq's banking and finance industry.

As part of an effort to liberalize the economy, in the first three months of 2014, the Iraqi Central Bank granted approval to 15 Arab and international banks to open branches in Baghdad, with additional branches expected to open soon. There is also a notable drive to grow and promote the stock markets, with senior Iraqi government officials and representatives from the country's two stock exchanges hosting a two-day forum in Dubai May 14-15 in a bid to court regional investors."

"Dubai's index tumbled to a six-week low on Tuesday as investors booked profits from a near 18-month bull run, while Saudi Arabia's bourse was again lacklustre and is seen stuck in the doldrums until July's results season.

It fell 5.5 percent the day before and rebounded in early Tuesday trade, but buying pressure was brief and it has fallen 12.6 percent in a week, trimming 2014 gains to 38.2 percent.

"A revaluation of the market has been happening for the past week - the fundamentals haven't changed, it's pure profit-taking by speculators," said Samer al-Jaouni, a Gulf-based trader.

Dubai's measure is up 187 percent since the start of 2013 as renewed confidence in Dubai's property sector and a retail and tourism boom brought traders back to the emirate's beleaguered stock market."

"A major gas deal between Russia and China could finally be sealed this week when Russian President Vladimir Putin visits China on May 20-21 and meets with President Xi Jinping. In the lead up to Putin’s arrival, the two sides have been working on putting the finishing touches on a 30-year contract for a gas deal a decade in the making, and Russian officials have suggested that the deal will be completed by Putin’s arrival.

Gazprom’s CEO Alexei Miller announced on a Russian news show last weekend that Russia and China were “one digit” away from finalizing the agreement. “There is just one question – it’s … a starting, base price in the price formula which, it’s remarkable, has already been fully agreed upon with our Chinese partners,” he said on May 17. “It’s a very little more – to put in only one digit, and a 30-year contract to supply 38 bcm of gas from East Siberia to China will be signed,” said Miller."

"Ukraine’s 2017 Eurobonds rose for a sixth day, sending yields to a five-week low, after state television in Moscow reported Russian troops were withdrawing from the border between the two nations.

The yield on the dollar-denominated note due July 2017 fell 46 basis points to 11.11 percent, the lowest level since April 11. The hryvnia lost 0.4 percent to 12 per dollar at 3:30 p.m. in Kiev, the weakest since April 14.

Soldiers in three Russian regions bordering Ukraine were ordered back to their bases, according to the TV report, though NATO and the U.S. haven’t confirmed the pullback. President Vladimir Putin has welcomed contacts between the Kiev authorities and supporters of a decentralization of powers to the regions. Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said the government will try to ensure presidential elections scheduled for May 25 will go ahead."

"Oman central bank stress tests found the country's banking system would conform with its minimum capital guidelines even under severe shocks, it said on Tuesday.

"Thanks to the comfortable capital levels in the banking sector in Oman, even after the application of severe shocks, the system as a whole appeared quite resilient," the central bank said in its financial stability report.

Should all the applied stressed scenarios materialise, the banking system would need 77.5 million rials ($201.3 million) to recapitalise all five deficient banks to the required capital ratio of 12.0 percent."

"Global Investment House, the Kuwaiti firm which completed a second debt restructuring last year, swung to a first-quarter net profit as fees from its asset management, investment banking and brokerage businesses grew.

Global, which counts the governments of Kuwait and Dubai as shareholders, said its net profit in the three months to March 31 was KD3.1 million ($11 million). This compares with a loss of KD3.9 million in the prior-year period.

Global said its total quarterly revenue rose 86 percent to KD6.1 million. Fee-based revenue, which includes asset management, investment banking and brokerage, increased by 30 percent to KD3.4 million, according to a filing on Bahrain's stock exchange."

"BP’s chief economist is jumping ship to the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority to establish and run a global research team for the sovereign wealth fund.

Christof Ruhl, a German academic who specializes in energy economics and has been with BP since 2005, will start at ADIA in July, the fund said in an emailed statement Tuesday. He’ll start and lead an independent research team that provides the fund’s senior executives with proprietary research, the statement said.

ADIA is one of the longest-established and largest sovereign wealth funds in the world, with assets estimated at $773 billion by the U.S.-based Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute. It invests excess energy revenues for Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates."

"The shouting match between west and east continues but the Russian stock market is up sharply this week, as President Vladimir Putin travels to China where he is expected to sign a string of big investment deals.

Some pundits have been warning of war. Nato has been moving assets up to its eastern borders while Russia’s troops remain on “exercises” near its border with Ukraine. But investors have shrugged off the dangers of this “hot peace” and assume that a negotiated solution will be found.

In the past few days Russian stocks have clawed back most of their losses since the annexation of Crimea. If Putin inks a historic deal to supply gas to China on May 20 that will link Russia to China by non-movable infrastructure – as is widely expected – expect the stock market to surge again.

"Professionals in finance and accountancy - better known as bankers - are set to get pay hikes that will be thrice the rate of inflation in the UAE, leaving them more disposable income and savings.

That’s according to the latest figures released by recruitment firm Robert Half International. The findings suggest that the UAE jobs market for experienced accounting and finance professionals has further tightened.

With many companies continuing to experience economic challenges, those UAE finance leaders who plan to increase base salaries for staff, will do so by an average 6.1 per cent, easily outpacing UAE inflation by more than three times."

Chinese companies are likely to become Gazprom’s partners in the plant’s construction project, a source close to a participating party at talks told the newspaper. The plans have been also confirmed by a federal official.

The talks are at an early stage, the newspaper’s sources said without giving further details. The issue is expected to be discussed during the visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to China, beginning Tuesday.
"

"Bulgaria is subjected to a special procedure by the European Commission over South Stream gas pipeline project, BNR reported.

It is not a punitive procedure, but is rather assisting one and its results will show the possible future measures by the EU Commission. The European Commission announced that the reason for triggering the procedure is intended by the Bulgarian government amendments to the Energy Act and the fact that attempts for shifting gas pipeline or part of it out of the range of the European energy legislation poses serious problem."

"The biggest selloff of Dubai stocks in nine months is failing to deter Schroders Plc and Shuaa Asset Management from seeing further gains in the world’s best-performing stock market.

The benchmark DFM General Index slumped 5.5 percent yesterday, taking its drop to 8.9 percent in the four days since MSCI Inc. named the Dubai companies it will include in its emerging-markets gauge from June 1. Stocks on the DFM, the world’s third most-volatile index, traded at a peak of 19.1 times projected 12-month earnings on May 14, a 77 percent premium to developing-nation peers. The multiple fell to 17.4 yesterday.

“Valuations have reached exaggerated levels,” Rami Sidani, who oversees the $343 million Schroders International Selection Fund, said by e-mail from Dubai yesterday. “Smart money will jump on the names that offer value as this correction could offer great entry points.”"

The airline business is looking up for those surrounding the Persian Gulf.

Economists believe this could be a record year for profits, earning nearly $20 billion, with the highest returns likely made by commercial carriers based in the Gulf states. The region's three biggest carriers, Etihad Airways, Qatar Airways and Emirates Airlines, have set ambitious goals to become dominant players not only in their region but the world, reports CBS News' travel editor Peter Greenberg.

Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker led Greenberg through the new international airport in Doha set to officially open this month, where every building material matters and the effort of every builder is held to the highest standard."

"The issuance of Decree 57 by the Dubai Government in December 2009 introduced the UAE’s first modern framework for insolvency law, designed to handle cases involving modern companies with tiered capital and international operations.

The framework enabled companies in the Dubai World family to enter into a court-driven insolvency practice while continuing to trade, with a temporary stay of creditor claims.

Crucially, the framework allows for a company’s restructuring plan to be officially passed if holders of 75 per cent of the company’s debt give their approval, meaning that a company’s restructuring cannot be held hostage by smaller hostile creditors."

"Despite current challenges, growth in foreign direct investment to Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon and Jordan should overtake the expansion of flows to the GCC by 2019, according to a new report.

The Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) said the five economies were attractive to multinationals because of their large consumer bases.

“In terms of FDI, the UAE and Qatar are two major destinations, but what is interesting are those markets which have been less on the radar of investors but have huge potential,” said Charles Davis, the director at the CEBR and author of the report, which was produced for the company’s economics research partner, ICAEW. “These five economies have potential for catch-up in growth and an increased consumer market.”"

"Despite current challenges, growth in foreign direct investment to Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon and Jordan should overtake the expansion of flows to the GCC by 2019, according to a new report.

The Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) said the five economies were attractive to multinationals because of their large consumer bases.

“In terms of FDI, the UAE and Qatar are two major destinations, but what is interesting are those markets which have been less on the radar of investors but have huge potential,” said Charles Davis, the director at the CEBR and author of the report, which was produced for the company’s economics research partner, ICAEW. “These five economies have potential for catch-up in growth and an increased consumer market.”"

"Ask any commercial lawyer or investment banker about their wish list for legal reform in the UAE, and a new insolvency law is invariably near the top of the list. A modern insolvency regime, one which allows companies to enter court-driven insolvency and restructuring procedures, is widely regarded as essential for the country’s economic development.

Now there are signs that such a new law may be coming closer to reality.

At the end of last year, the Ministry of Finance submitted a revised draft of a new insolvency law – modelled largely on French, German and US regimes – to the Ministry of Justice for its approval. Last week a source familiar with the process said that the ministry was close to giving its stamp of approval for the new law, pending some minor alterations."

"Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr Al Thani, who played a key role in Glencore International Plc (GLEN)’s takeover of Xstrata Plc, is returning to dealmaking a year after his ouster as prime minister and head of Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund.

Sheikh Hamad is injecting 1.75 billion euros ($2.4 billion) into Deutsche Bank AG through his Paramount Holdings Services Ltd. investment vehicle, the Frankfurt-based bank said May 18. That follows an offer by his Al Mirqab Capital SPC vehicle for Jersey-based Heritage Oil Plc. less than three weeks earlier.

After taking what he called a “year of rest” since leaving office, Sheikh Hamad is back as a private investor, hunting for acquisitions such as the investments in Barclays Plc (BARC) and Total SA he helped oversee as head of Qatar’s $100 billion wealth fund. The country’s investment abroad averaged $60 billion a year between 2008 and 2012, the International Monetary Fund said last year."

"Saudi Arabia’s stock market, the Arab world’s largest bourse, is one step away from gaining approval to allow direct foreign investment into equities, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.

The Capital Market Authority completed a draft set of rules for international investors more than a year ago, and at least three banks, including HSBC Holdings Plc (HSBA) and Deutsche Bank AG, have executed test trades, three people said, asking not to be identified as the plans are private. The regulator submitted the draft to the kingdom’s Supreme Economic Council, and an approval would be the final step in opening up the market, one of the people said.

Investors are seeking access to the world’s largest oil producer as the government pursues a $130 billion spending plan to boost the non-oil economy. The benchmark Tadawul All Share Index (SASEIDX), which has a market value of $532 billion, bigger that that of South Africa’s bourse, has gained 14 percent this year."